Monday, June 23, 2008

Boston's basement-dwelling days are over. With the Celtics capturing the 2007-08 NBA championship, the franchise's 17th, the lengthy title drought of a proud franchise has ended in dramatic fashion. All the postseason heroics and regular-season highlights are captured within this 128-page, full-color tribute to the team, with feature articles and photography from the Boston Herald. From the flurry of preseason trades that brought the team 2004 MVP Kevin Garnett and perennial All-Star Ray Allen, to the redemption of Boston's beloved guard Paul Pierce, this collectible book explores the memorable themes and colorful personalities that made this season one for the ages.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The Boston Herald is a daily newspaper published in Boston, Massachusetts, and distributed throughout New England. Its circulation exceeds 230,000 copies daily. The Herald boasts some of the more prominent sports writers in the area, including columnists Steve Buckley, Tony Massarotti, and John Tomase.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

More than 20 former and current Pale Hose players share their fondest singlegame White Sox experience and memories with the Chicago Tribune’s Lew Freedman. Many of these moments have helped shape the team’s rich heritage in Chicago during their 107-year history. Billy Pierce, Scott Podsednik, Mark Buehrle, Greg Walker, Bobby Jenks, Turk Lown, and Gerry Staley are but a few of the legendary White Sox stars who discuss the games of their lives.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lew Freedman is a sportswriter for the Chicago Tribune, where he has served as the newspaper’s outdoors reporter for more than five years. In addition, he contributes to coverage of Chicago’s many sports teams, including the White Sox, Bears, and local college basketball teams. The author of 24 books, Freedman has won numerous journalism awards. Freedman resides in Bolingbrook, Illinois.

Dating back to the “Gas House Gang” of the 1930’s, through the great Schoendienst- Musial teams of the ’40s, to “El Birdos” in the ’60s, “Whiteyball” in the ’80s, and all the way up to the club’s most recent world championship, this book allows some of the men who have worn the legendary Birds on the Bat to tell the stories of their most memorable moments in Cardinal red. Fans can read about current heroes like Jim Edmonds and Chris Carpenter, and the game in which utilityman and current third-base coach Jose Oquendo pitched four innings – and almost picked up the win. Broadcasters Al Hrabosky and Rick Horton share some memories of their own days in uniform; while Adam Wainwright, the newest Cardinal hero, tells of his experience closing out the memorable 2006 NLCS.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Matthew Leach has covered the Cardinals as the beat reporter for MLB.com since 2002, and has been with MLB Advanced Media since it was formed in 2000. In his time with MLB.com, he has covered three World Series, seven National League Championship Series, three All-Star Games, and every Winter Meetings since 2000. He previously worked at NASCAR.com as an editor and writer, and also turned in a brief stint with ESPN.com. Leach resides in St. Louis, Missouri.

At the start of the 2005 season, Vince Spadea was the only over-30 player besides Andre Agassi to be ranked in the top 20 on the world professional tennis circuit. Break Point is his highly-acclaimed account of the 2005 season, where he provides an inside look at the 11-month tour, including battling injuries, changing coaches and agents, a slight from Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe, and his improbable climb back up the rankings. Along the way, Spadea considers taking two months off to appear on “The Bachelor,” practices with a combative John McEnroe in New York, and prowls Hollywood with comedian Jon Lovitz trying to pick up actresses. Included are colorful, personal anecdotes about Andre Agassi, Venus and Serena Williams, Andy Roddick, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Martina Navratilova, Maria Sharapova, Jennifer Capriati, Tim Henman, and Marat Safin. This updated softcover edition includes Spadea’s response to criticism of his book voiced by others on the tour, including Lindsay Davenport and James Blake. He also briefly reflects on the 2006 and 2007 seasons, and updates readers on his personal life.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Vince Spadea was groomed to be a professional tennis player by his dedicated father and has gone on to play an unprecedented 15 seasons on the ATP tour during a career that began in 1993. He has been ranked as high as 18th in the world during his career and has won nearly 300 matches. Spadea currently resides in Boca Raton, Florida. Past titles include Break Point! The Secret Diary of a Pro Tennis Player (ECW Press, 2006 • ISBN: 1-55022-729-7).

Dan Markowitz’s writing career has led to articles printed in Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, Men's Journal, Tennis, Runner's World, The Village Voice, and Inside Sports. He has also co-authored books with former New York Knicks stars Walt Frazier and John Starks. Markowitz currently lives in White Plains, New York. Past titles include John Starks: My Life (Sports Publishing, 2004), The Game Within The Game (ESPN Books/Hyperion, 2006), and Break Point! The Secret Diary of a Pro Tennis Player (ECW Press, 2006).

More than 20 former and current Philadelphia Phillies’ players share their fondest single-game Phillies’ experience and memories, many of which celebrate the extraordinary moments that have shaped the team’s rich heritage in the City of Brotherly Love. Robin Roberts, Curt Simmons, John Vukovich, Kevin Jordan, Mitch Williams, Greg Luzinski, Darren Daulton, and Del Unser are but a few of the legendary Phillies stars who discuss the games of their lives.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bob Gordon weaves a fulltime writing life with a successful consulting business. In addition to writing restaurant reviews, business columns for foreign magazines, and a slew of humorous and provocative essays, he has written six sports books to date on baseball, football, and basketball. He is also a registered professional engineer who serves as a communication coach for executives and managers. Gordon resides in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. Past titles include More Than Beards, Bellies and Biceps: The Story of the 1993 Philadelphia Phillies and the Phillie Phanatic Too! (Sports Publishing, 2003), The Team That (They Say) Had Nothing But a Championship: The 1960 Philadelphia Eagles (Sports Publishing, 2001), and Ed Pinckney’s Tales from the Villanova Hardwood (Sports Publishing, 2004).

Out of obscurity the Rockies charged to close the 2007 season, winning 21 of 22 games to capture the National League pennant and shock the baseball world. In just one month, an entire franchise was dramatically reincarnated and thrust into the national spotlight. This book captures that magical 2007 season, but also chronicles the entire 15-year history of the Mountain Time Zone’s big-league franchise. From that inaugural spring training, when the castoffs that formed an expansion team jokingly put name tags on their jerseys, to a surprising playoff appearance only three seasons later, to the wondrous exploits of the Blake Street Bombers, and lastly, the dawn of a new generation of home-grown and humble success stories. These are the stories of the players, managers, and executives themselves, told in their words.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tony DeMarco has covered Major League Baseball for more than 20 years and currently serves as a baseball writer/columnist for NBCSports.com in addition to doing freelance writing. He covered the Texas Rangers for seven years before moving to Denver in 1994 to be the beat writer for the Denver Post covering the Colorado Rockies, a post he held for five years. DeMarco resides in Centennial, Colorado. Past titles include The Sporting News' 50 Greatest Sluggers (Sporting News, 2000), Larry Walker: Canadian Rocky (Sports Publishing, 1999), and Ed McCaffrey: Catching a Star (Sports Publishing, 1999).

The former big first baseman for the Minnesota Twins was one of the game's true characters, a throwback whose personal tastes were every bit as Ruthian as the monstrous homers for which he is remembered. Hrbek, who shares stories about the World Series-winning teams of 1987 and 1991, and teammates like Gary Gaetti, Tom Brunanasky, and Kirby Puckett, played the game with a passion seldom seen in modern sports, and brought fun and humor into the Twins clubhouse. This was a place where a manager had to ban the cleaning of fish in the trainer's room, and where practical jokes were commonplace.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kent Hrbek is the classic hometown hero. He spent his entire major league career in Minnesota, helping the Twins to their first two World Series titles in 1987 and 1991. He batted .282 with 293 homers and 1,086 RBI before retiring at the age of 34 after 14 big-league seasons. He is one of only five Twins to have his number retired. Hrbek resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Dennis Brackin has worked for more than 25 years at the Minneapolis Star Tribune, spending a good share of that time covering the Twins. His tenure as a Twins reporter coincided with most of Hrbek's career, including the 1987 and 1991 World Series championships. Brackin has won several national awards for investigative and enterprise sports reporting and is currently an assistant editor at the paper. Brackin resides in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.